When you blog about the professional anti-LGBT movement, you get used to reading completely batsh*t, sex-obsessed things from Peter LaBarbera, or junk science from hate group leader Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council. But in 2012, GOP Clown Car candidate Rick Santorum has ushered in an impressive and visible new era of religious right/junk science/insane statements that suggests the Republican Party either cannot or is unwilling to deal with the basic political realities going on in this nation. It’s not 1900.

I understand this focus on social issues is about distracting low-info voters from the fact that the GOP has done nothing to create jobs; it’s been about bleating the usual mantra of lowering taxes on the wealthy and other crap that helped destroy the economy in the first place. What I was unprepared for was the unbridled desperation of the fundie base to the extent that it’s driving independent voters and especially women to have to go back to arguing about basic matters of contraception, access to the legal right to an abortion, and whether they should even be in the workforce. And the party of anti-government intrusion is MIA.

“Woodstock is the great American orgy. This is who the Democratic Party has become. They have become the party of Woodstock. The prey upon our most basic primal lusts, and that’s sex. And the whole abortion culture, it’s not about life. It’s about sexual freedom. That’s what it’s about. Homosexuality. It’s about sexual freedom.”

No one in the GOP, which is loaded with gay Republicans, is willing to say this is ridiculous demonization, in fact, they are letting the Base rile up. If Santorum is the head engineer of the New Republican Crazy Train, he’s got plenty of people in box cars all the way to the caboose.

Take Tanya Ditty, state director for the anti-gay Concerned Women of America of Georgia, who testified yesterday before the subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee on House Bill 630 (State Fair Employment Practices Act), which would provide Workplace Protections for LGBT State employees. In her “expert” testimony that surely was seen by the GOP lawmakers, Ditty asked committee members to oppose the bill because she believed it would allow such things as necrophilia, zoophilia and pedophilia.

You might laugh at this and think the woman needs better meds, but how far is she from standard bearer Santorum? After all, the former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania is on board with bigoted, barely sane Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, on whether Barack Obama is a U.S. citizen who talks over-the-top discredited birther batsh*t:

Arpaio said he plans to endorse one of the four remaining GOP candidates in the coming weeks. But the sheriff added he would not make his choice known before he announces the findings of his birth certificate probe at a news conference set for March 1st.

Santorum, he said, seemed to have no problem with the nature of his investigation. “He had no problems with what I told him that I may be doing,” Arpaio told reporters.

Is the GOP really swinging this far to the right by its silence? Perhaps the problem is that party brokers don’t like Mittens, and no one of any stature in the party is willing to run in 2012 to bump The Mormon (the fundie base is clearly not down with Romney). I’m sure those pols sitting it out know that the sh*tload of an economic mess that was left for Barack Obama can’t be cleaned up in four, let alone 8 years, and they don’t want to be left holding the steaming bag.

But to hand over the spotlight to Santorum, rather than marginalizing him, shows just how weak the GOP is, and how much fealty it continues to have to fundie dog-whistlers like the Rev. Franklin Graham, who is beyond offensive in insulting the President and the Muslim community with his tasteless bigotry. But again, Santorum is on the train, questioning the President’s faith (which is irrelevant to holding office, but it’s front and center in these preposterous conversations):

Appearing on MSNBC Tuesday morning, Graham said he is not sure the president is a Christian. Neither is he certain that Obama is not a Muslim.

“All I know is under Obama, President Obama, the Muslims of the world, he seems to be more concerned about them than the Christians that are being murdered in the Muslim countries,” Graham said.

“Islam sees him as a son of Islam … I can’t say categorically that (the president is not Muslim) because Islam has gotten a free pass under Obama.”

Over the weekend in Ohio, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum criticized Obama’s environmental policies, saying they are based on “some phony theology. Oh, not a theology based on the Bible. A different theology.”

Note to MSNBC – Graham’s not his daddy — and doesn’t deserve a media platform to spread unprovable or false trash to tie the President to some kind of Muslim extremist, anti-American agenda. And the GOP is silent, not calling out Graham.

That the Republican talking heads don’t even flinch or call out Santorum’s obvious retrograde, science-free trash is telling. No one questions his absurd position on evolution, documented in a 2008 interview:

There is no suspicion of it. It is decided science that cannot be questioned. There cannot be any doubts about it. If you have any questions or doubts, it’s trying to inject religion into the science classroom. So it is above reproach.

I obviously don’t feel that way. I think there are a lot of problems with the theory of evolution, and do believe that it is used to promote to a worldview that is anti-theist, that is atheist.

Santorum’s bold insistence on publicly defended faith — specifically Judeo-Christian of course — as a legitimate factor in a campaign to serve as President, not Pope is absurd. Personal faith beliefs (or none at all) have no place in our governing, yet this is where the GOP obviously wants to go.

But the question I have is — how many people in the U.S. actually identify with and support Santorum’s views? A third of GOP voters? Half? Do we have that many people in the country who think the state mandating the inserting of a probe into the vagina of a woman who wants to have an abortion is an appropriate role of government? The general public doesn’t want government in their private sexual lives, and the party of alleged small government is silent, allowing the fundamentalists to rule their primary process in a way that is embarrassing.

After each election cycle you see speculation that the GOP will finally kick the religious right out on its duff and get back to core conservative values. At this point I’ve only seen the American Taliban influence coddled again and again. I don’t think the GOP can afford to lose the “sheeple” vote, the base of organized churches that get out the vote, do door to door and can be easily manipulated by fear and smear, God and guns, and fear of changes in gender roles or sexuality (without shame).

34 Responses
to “Santorum: leading the transformation of the GOP into the crazy train of fundamentalism”

“The unbridled desperation of the fundie base” — The professional gay bashers/life-ends-at-birthers are losing, and it’s pretty obvious they’re losing, so their only fallback is to rile the base. As bluevistas points out, it’s mostly fear. That’s their stock in trade.

Second, “Perhaps the problem is that party brokers don’t like Mittens.” My take is that the party brokers do like Romney, but they’re not fully in control any more, thanks to Citizens United and the Tea Party. (It’s amazing how many psychopaths have lots of money in this country — but maybe that’s what it takes.) The party brokers — who are *not* the fundie base — are perfectly fine with Mr. Bankster.

Keep in mind that we are dealing at this point with Republican primaries and caucuses (and have you noticed how many of the caucuses are non-binding?). They might as well put up a sign that no one sane need apply. These votes are coming from people who believe whatever they’re told until someone tells them something else, as long as it’s the same as what they “know,” and who have no real knowledge of American history, the Constitution, or the way the government actually works. (Not entirely their fault — thinking back to what I was taught in American history classes in high school compared to what I’ve learned sense, we’re in different universes. One example of many: The Pilgrims fled persecution in England and came to the New World to be free — to persecute everyone else. It’s not something that these people can wrap their heads around very easily, if at all. The difference is that I kept learning — they didn’t.)

I really do hope that Santorum is the nominee, although I doubt that will happen — unless the corporate interests have bought enough Democrats that it doesn’t matter to them which party is in power.

By Graham’s, Cray mitchell’s and others’ reasoning, there are no Christians in America, nor anywhere else. There are people who say they are Christians, including Franklin Graham, and I take them for their word that they say they are Christians, but I nor anyone else know that they are really Christians. Therefore, nobody is really a Christian, there is no real Christian church (since you must have a gathering of Christians to make a church), and no real Christians protected by the First Amendment.

Santorum’s popularity is really a sad reflection of the ignorance that abounds in Dumfukistan (aka USA). When 40% or more of those polled believe the bible to be factual and that the US is “exceptional”, you’re dealing with a populace who are best described as the ignorati.

If this lunatic doesn’t finally break the trend in this country toward more and more interference by the catholic church (primarily) in the government of this country, I don’t know what will.

When Al Smith from NY tried to run for President, the Republicans went out of their minds that a catholic was going to turn the country over to the pope. I’m old enough to remember JFK going through the same issue with the Republicans.

INQUISITION burning women alive….catholic church……ahhhh i am sick to my stomach………aspirin between the knees?……i call out all men who love women and clear thinking to stand up now……before we become germany 1932

help me….say this better, say it loud and often……no mas….these fat assed old men surely got caught jerking their tool as boys and were told by the catholic church that they would go to hell …….

no contraception/ get fucking serious we are losing it…….help me men

stand up for those you love before the catholic church disembowels and burns women again…..ahhh stand up to thes bullies, give or take an ass kicking……do not be afraid to do or say the right thing here

these men are ill……stand up to them…..please…people have died to give us the chance to stand up….do it just do it now…..

Mind you, most “Democratic” pols aren’t *much* better, but they do not display their fascistic tendencies quite so nakedly as this bunch of so-called “Republican” candidates.

I’ve long felt that the money boyz hoped that they could slip Mitt Romney in as the putative “Republican” candidate bc there’s no difference between Mittens & the BarackStar. Now that the shrieking looney rightwing base won’t have a bar of the Magic Undies, who’s left? Icky Ricky Santorum.

I’ve opined before that my batshit fundie family are *friends* with Santorum (much as it disgusts me to admit that). Believe me, Santorum *means* what he SAYS in terms of: that’s what YOU should do, but perhaps not what he & his family will do. Santorum is yet another grifting whore shaped by Doug Coe’s “Family.” Santorum is in it *mainly* for the money he can GRIFT for himself, but he’ll bark out any old batshit nonsense if he thinks it’ll rile up the base, whilst also forcing the base to be subjugated to him & his 1% buddies.

Santorum is deadly serious. But my money is on the BarackStar to “win,” but then the shit’s really gonna hit the fan. Mark my words.

If Santorum is the Republican nominee, the perfect running mate for him would be Ted Nugent. As William F. Buckley said many years ago, “it is a fundamental axiom of American politics that the ticket must be balanced.”

Babeu, the sheriff who’s brought heat on the McCain campaign, was once a headmaster for a Massachusetts boarding school. He became a cop for the city of Chandler, a Phoenix suburb, before being elected sheriff of Pinal County two years ago. He was

outed by a media watchdog group for appearing in early July on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ show, during which he said President Obama was undermining the rule of the law and fretted that America was “sprinting down a path to socialism.” The next day, Babeu caused a stir in Arizona by being a guest onPolitical Cesspool, a radio talk show affiliated with white supremacists.Political Cesspool’s website is upfront about its “paleoconservative” worldview and lists among its principles a desire “to revive the White birthrate” and “to grow the percentage of Whites in the world relative to other races.”

Buckley,a brilliant writer and thinker, also famously said that he would just as soon be governed by the first 100 names in the Boston phone book as by the current US Senate.
A man like him surely is spinning in his grave over the devolution of his party. By the way, one doesn’t have to agree to appreciate cogent thinking.

He is as unelectable as Gingrich. I have a suspicion the real reason more sane republicans are not bothering to run is because they are getting tired of cow towing to the whackadoodles. They don’t agree with them and they know unless they come out and say Obama is a muslim, socialist, genocidal christian killer they won’t make the party nomination. So what is left are the insane fringe. Yep that is todays Republican party.

There was a time when they actually were a party of ideas. A time when they had sane people who could work well with others. Those days are GONE!

“Woodstock is the great American orgy. This is who the Democratic Party has become. They have become the party of Woodstock.

The GOP’s hero is Reagan someone who for most young voters is a historical figure. I’m 43 not a young voter by anyone’s definiation and Woodstock for me is also history granted interesting history.
The GOP is trying to use negative emotional appeals to win over a majority of voters. Just what are they thinking using emotional appeals that work for the over 40 crowd?
I understand that tax cuts for the rich their greatest concern is as popular as cutting fresh onions with voters so they are trying to distract voters with moral values/oppression/scapegoats but come on!
Any negative emotional appeal must first appeal to voters…. a majority of voters.
I think the GOP are retreating from reality to their childhood memories…I think we broke them.
Now if only O would do an FDR and have government create jobs the GOP would go full panic mode.

Santorum is deadly serious. But my money is on the BarackStar to “win,” but then the shit’s really gonna hit the fan

no doubt! all those: birthers, plus good ol’ boys lamenting they thought it would always stay the White house, & TeaPartying mad-as-hatters screaming about “socialist fascists” and other such self-negations, etc.–& other such irrational panic–ya think it’s at fever pitch now?

wait until their Talking Point of the Day (and the next and the next and the next, ad nauseum) is, “the 1000-yr worldwide Caliphate of al-Obama is upon us, now that he don’t have to worry about re-election.”

there was an attempted military coup against FDR, foiled primarily by Smedley Butler blowing the whistle (the conspirators foolish enough to assume he’d hop on board).

things are already nearly as insane, already.

think it couldn’t happen again? and not fail.

worse, no one feels in their hearts the Dems are worth fighting for. with good reason. but could things be worse? oh yes.

The reason there aren’t any *real* Republicans like Barry Goldwater, Eisenhower, Taft, et al is because they’ve been purged from the party.

When Reagan allowed the fanatics from the religious reicht to infest the party, they began to infiltrate the state and county parties, using the *same* tactic a generation ago they claimed Communists would take over the country!

Once the religious reicht were able to bring enough numbers to the table to oust the moderates then in power, they immediately began to impose a litmus test on every member and candidate, eliminating those who refused to goosestep in perfect unison with their twisted, perverted, and un-American agenda!

Thirty years later, the religious reicht is on the edge of becoming completely impotent as a political and social bully, which is the reason for all of these last-gasp attempts of continuing the culture war, and losing badly!

We of the progressive and liberal bent need to continue the pressure and not let up for one second until these immoral degenerates are finally ousted from power and the moderates can retake their party back from these theocratic fanatics — non-violently as possible!

the religious reicht is on the edge of becoming completely impotent as a political and social bully, which is the reason for all of these last-gasp attempts of continuing the culture war, and losing badly!

Excellent point. Fears of impending irrelevance may be their primary reason for turning up the volume (and distorting the signal, even further)